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International judges at UN-backed Khmer Rouge trials welcome breakthrough on fees

International judges at UN-backed Khmer Rouge trials welcome breakthrough on fees

International judges at the United Nations-backed trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, accused of mass killings and other horrific crimes during the late 1970s, today welcomed Cambodia’s decision to reduce fees for international lawyers, saying it opened the way for the court to move quickly to start its work.

International judges at the United Nations-backed trials of former Khmer Rouge leaders, accused of mass killings and other horrific crimes during the late 1970s, today welcomed Cambodia’s decision to reduce fees for international lawyers, saying it opened the way for the court to move quickly to start its work.

The judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia said they were pleased to learn of a recent decision by the Cambodian Bar Council to institute a flat

registration fee of $500 for all international lawyers appearing before the court. This is down from a $4,900 fee for foreign lawyers, an amount the international judges warned earlier this month was prohibitive and went against all international practice.

“With this decision, the international judges believe that a successful plenary can now be

called to adopt the internal rules of the Extraordinary Chambers. It is expected that this

plenary will be held in the last week of May 2007,” the international judges said in a statement released in Phnom Penh.

“The international judges express their hope that Extraordinary Chambers can move forward without further delay, so as to discharge its historic responsibility to find justice for the Cambodian people.”

This fee dispute was the latest delay in the long-awaited trials, judges and prosecutors for which were sworn in last July. Under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia, the trial court and a Supreme Court within the Cambodian legal system will investigate those most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979.

The UN will pay $43 million of the $56.3 million budget for the trials, with the Cambodian Government providing $13.3 million.